Essay on Media 's Effect On Cognitive Behavior

Essay on Media 's Effect On Cognitive Behavior

Essay Preview

The vast technological advancement of the past 20 years has changed the modern landscape; individuals, from all age groups, are increasingly using smart phones, tablets and portable computers. These advents, designed to allow users to easily and quickly access information, has led to increased media consumption. It has been found that an individual often consumes different types of media simultaneously, a phenomenon known as media multitasking. The influx of accessible technology to the general public has corresponded to an increase in media multitasking. This increasing trend, especially in younger people, fortifies the importance of understanding the short and long-term effects that media multitasking has on cognitive functioning and attention; this is especially important in light of recent conflicting research about media multitasking’s effect on cognitive processes.
Recent studies on media-multitasking focus on the long-term cognitive changes that occur when one consistently media multitasks; this research has led to two contradictory points of view. The debate surrounding high volume media multitaskers is based on the existence or absence of individual’s long-term detriments in attention, task switching and filtering of irrelevant details.
The great debate over the impact of media multitasking was ignited by an influential study by Ophir, Nass and Wagner (2009). Their study utilized a Media Multitasking Index (MMI) that assessed individual’s media consumption, and divided participants into two groups: high media multitaskers (HMM) and low media multitaskers (LMM). In studies testing filtering ability, HMMs were less selective for irrelevant information (from the environment) entering their working memories, which made th...

... middle of paper ...

...participants regarding this stimulus. After this test, the participants will immediately complete a SART test to assess their task-switching abilities. We hypothesize that the two relevant stimuli presented in the vigilance test will be detected equally by LMMs and HMMs, which can add further contradictory evidence to disprove the top-down theory presented by Ophir and colleagues (2013). Additionally, we predict that the covert stimulus in the vigilance test will be detected more frequently by HMMs than LMMs; if true, this finding would further strengthen the claim that HMMs engage in useful breadth-biased attention, in accordance with Lin (2009). Lastly, we predict that the SART test will show no significant differences between the groups, which could show that frequent and infrequent media multitasking has little to no cognitive effect on task-switching abilities.

Need Writing Help?

- Criminogenic media is what researchers have claimed to be a cause of crime. What this is saying is that people some people seek out certain types of media that supports their type of behavior. Perhaps a child living in an abusive household with no rules, would seek out various media that mirror his view of how things work. Such as more violent movies, TV shows or video games. There are three main arguments that are made about whether criminogenic media has an effect on aggressive behavior, is a direct cause of crime, and the relationship that the media has with terrorism.... [tags: Violence, Columbine High School massacre, Crime]

- What makes you. Is it what we see or listen to. Many people believe that our media is a major factor in who we are. Some think that it can change a person throughout their life. Everybody has heard that violent television or video games cause people to become violent in real life. There is also the common phrase, you are what you eat, and we consume massive amounts of media. If people are consuming such amounts, it leads to the belief that this media that our brains absorb will have some effect on us.... [tags: Media Essays]

- Psychology as we know is the scientific study of behavior (feelings, actions etc.) and mental processes. Media on the other hand consist of Televisions, Radios, Internet, Newspapers, and other means of disseminating information. Media Psychology, as stated by the Media Psychology Research Center is a new and emerging field, so the early entrants have the excitement and burden of defining the path. This means that, there’s no clear-cut definition for media psychology. However, Tina Indaleco, in her book THE MEDIA PSYCHOLOGIST MANIFESTO defines media psychology as a discipline of psychology that examines the impact media has on human behavior, and the cognitive processes of individuals, groups... [tags: Media]

- 1. The violence portrayed by the media has a negative outcome because humans are observant learners. Media influences behavior when people begin to mimic or spectate actions. For instance, if a child sees an abusive behavior on television, they are likely to repeat the action. On the contrary, if a prosocial media group gives an optimistic message to the problem it’ll give a potential solution. For example, if the child sees a model say something positive through media they are likely to adopt the behavior.... [tags: Operant conditioning, Classical conditioning]

- Television is a vital source from which most Americans receive information. News and media delegates on television have abused theirs powers over society through the airing of appealing news shows that misinform the public. Through literary research and experimentation, it has been proven that people's perception of reality has been altered by the information they receive from such programs. Manipulation, misinterpretation, word arrangement, picture placement and timing are all factors and tricks that play a major role in the case.... [tags: TV Violence Media Aggression Essays]

- The rise and proliferation of media in modern society presents a problem to troubled parents: does violent media affect the growth of children. This question has been examined by numerous researchers and psychologists, either lauding or accusing the media, especially violent media, for the effect that it has on people. Some, like Gerard Jones, author of numerous comic books, say that violent media is empowering, that box office smash hits like The Avengers tell the tale of kid-friendly superheroes that defeat the “bad guys” and save the day.... [tags: Children And TV Violence, Media Violence]

- Immersive and inherently expansive, video games have undeniably become one of the world’s most popular, profitable, and pervasive forms of entertainment. By and large, according to a study done by the Kaiser Foundation, video game use has steadily increased over time—with “9 out of 10” Americans playing for at least “two hours per day,” with an average of “eight hours of video games per week.” (Rideout, Foehr, and Roberts) In addition to that, the video game industry is rapidly growing into a multi-billion dollar industry, “earning over $25 billion in 2010, more than doubling Hollywood’s 2010 box office sales of $10.8 billion in the United States and Canada.” (Granic, Lobel, and Rutger) Beca... [tags: Video game, Nonviolent video game]

- Television and other media networks such as radio, internet, music and video games represent some of the most important influences on the health and behavior of adolescents. These are young people with very sharp brains but they are not quite sure what to do with them. Living in the 21st century gives the opportunity to have abundance of resources of learning. Ensuring the knowledge of Media literacy gives an individual the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media being supplied through the variety of media outlets.... [tags: Brain, Psychology, Cognition, Human brain]

- Television sculpts the way we view the world and has an undeniable effect on the young and impressionable minds of children. Television has become a staple pass-time in America and can be found in almost every home across the country. Because children are spending so much time consuming television, it is import to recognize the significant impact it has on its young viewers (United States Congress and Senate 2012). Children are exposed to violence, sexual content, impractical beauty standards, and as a result become desensitized to this content.... [tags: Human sexual behavior, Sexual intercourse]

- After watching television and flipping though ads and articles in several magazines, the stereotyping of men and women is so apparent but at the same time society is so blind to it. In society parents teach their children gender roles at a very early age. Gender roles refers to the attitudes, behavior, and activities that are socially defined as appropriate for each sex learned through the socialization process. Males are traditionally expected to show aggressiveness and toughness, and females are expected to be passive and nurturing.... [tags: Gender Roles in the Media]